1. Field
This invention pertains to auxiliary supports for trailers, and provides an improved such support for a trailer with a tongue and associated winch, such as is customarily used for the loading and transport of boats.
2. State of the Art
The use of trailers for launching, transporting and storing boats is widespread. It is necessary to connect and disconnect these trailers to and from towing vehicles under a variety of conditions. Under many conditions, a single individual, or inexpert individuals, are required to perform this task. The loads carried by such trailers are often very large. It is often impossible for even a number of individuals together to overcome the tongue weight for the purpose of bringing the hitch mechanism carried by the trailer tongue into alignment with a corresponding ball (or comparable device) mounted on the towing vehicle. Accordingly, auxiliary support systems which adjust the elevation of the trailer tongue and permit supported lateral movement of the trailer tongue to match the vehicle ball have come into use. A variety of such systems and devices are currently in use, and others have been suggested, but these all have certain inherent limitations and disadvantages, particularly as applied to older trailers which were not initially equipped with such equipment.
Most devices associated with boat trailers and the like involve retracting trailer tongue wheels through various mechanical systems associated with the auxiliary structure itself. Examples of patents which disclose such devices are U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,810,588; 2,863,670; 3,314,692; 3,348,861; and 3,791,676. Winch systems have been built into semitrailers to operate retractable legs, for example, as disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,563,567 and 3,572,752.
In general, the mechanisms in use are too expensive for incorporation on boat trailers which have not been adapted by the manufacturer for trailer tongue adjustment. Moreover, most such systems require factory installation, and cannot readily be installed on an existing trailer by its owner. There thus remains a need for a simple, inexpensive, apparatus for installation on conventional boat trailers with heavy tongue weights so that the tongue elevation can be adjusted by individuals who are infirm or otherwise incapable of exerting the force required to lift the heavy tongue of a boat trailer.